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How the Dew Affects You

On those hot, miserable days when you just want to hit the outdoors for a run, what is it exactly that makes it so miserable? Is it the heat? The humidity?

Actually, it turns out that it’s neither. What’s really making those runs so exhausting is something you might overlook during your daily weather check: the dew point.

The dew point refers to the meteorological measure of at what point water condenses. The closer the dew point and air temperatures are, the harder time your sweat has evaporating from your body to keep you cool. What results is your body working overtime, specifically the heart and lungs, to keep your body at a healthy temperature.

So the next time you want to squeeze in a quick run, make sure you check the dew point to help you plan accordingly. And if it looks to be a rough one, try running inside. And as always, keep plenty of water handy.

Here’s a helpful chart, compliments of the Life Fitness Run Club:

Dew Point: 50-54

Runner’s Perception: Very comfortable

How to Handle: Perfect running conditions

Dew Point: 55-59

Runner’s Perception: Comfortable

How to handle: Hard efforts likely not affected

Dew Point: 60-64

Runner’s perception: Uncomfortable for some people

How to handle: Expect race times to be slower than in optimal conditions

Dew Point: 65-69

Runner’s perception: Uncomfortable for most people

How to handle: Easy training runs might feel OK, but difficult to race or do hard efforts

Dew Point: 70-74

Runner’s perception: Very humid and uncomfortable

How to handle: Expect race paces to suffer greatly

Dew Point: 75 or greater

Runner’s perception: Extremely oppressive

How to handle: Take it indoors, skip your run, or dramatically alter your goal.